


Before She Was Liln

by NotoriousReign



Series: Narnia: Untold Stories [1]
Category: Chronicles of Narnia - All Media Types, Chronicles of Narnia - C. S. Lewis
Genre: F/M, Gen, Having Faith, Historical Fantasy, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-11
Updated: 2017-01-11
Packaged: 2018-09-16 21:27:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,946
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9290312
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NotoriousReign/pseuds/NotoriousReign
Summary: When a 25-year-old woman from 1909 Toronto just trying to live her life suddenly falls into a magical world, more is expected of her than she could handle. Is Lilia ready to do what is expected of her, when in her heart she feels as if others are always making her choices for her?All original characters, aside from Aslan. Technically Col isn't my original character and in the second part you'll see that the same applies to Lilia, but we know nothing about them aside from side notes so these are my characterizations.





	1. August 7 - August 22, 1909

**Author's Note:**

> I got back into the Chronicles of Narnia series when I remembered how much I loved coming up with ideas for this universe and I had forgotten how they properly play out in each book. I liked that there were stories in the timelines CS Lewis provided that you could create for yourself and since he said so to children in letters I tried to be as respectful as possible. The one I found myself attached to was the story of King Olvin winning Lady Liln's hand in marriage, but this is the first part with King Col. 
> 
> Enjoy!

_August 7, 1909 _

_At approximately 1 in the morning I crept back into the tenant, overstepped anything that might make any noises, including that one floorboard near the middle of the staircase and that mantelpiece in the middle of the second floor hall that always gives anybody a fright when there isn’t any light out. I found my room and not a single person knew I had been out. I’m getting much better at this than when I started three years ago at only 22 years old._

_What a night it was too. The golden drapery had been brought out for a summer festival and when you walked through those two wooden pillars by the doorway the hall looked like some kind of ballroom. Although of course it was a darkly lit one and pretty congested. It takes some getting used to, but I do love Monty’s Jazz Hall._

_You don’t get to hear their type of music, especially with the abundance of non-white persons around us, very often when you’re at home. At least I don’t. The way those guitars and drums beat rhythmically together, the way those fingers glide over the piano keys… it makes me wish I could remember my old instrument lessons._

_But then I forget because I sway and dance with the rest of my friends and it’s the best feeling in the world. Sometimes I’ll feel a man place his hands on me, but I’ve maneuvered myself well enough to reject them and find my friends again. Lately it’s been harder having them as my buffer because they’ve all started to find themselves boys, but it doesn’t last long._

_The dancing and drinks and singing ended later than I would have properly planned, but believe me I’ll be doing it again sometime soon._

* * *

 

_August 9, 1909_

_Mother caught up with me today before work to ask about that idiot Alfred again. She says for a writer, especially in such a small newspaper business, he accumulates such a good name for himself._

_I’m not a complete moron, I understand what everybody wants from me. I’m at that age now where it’s expected I marry too. Technically I was at that age much sooner but I had persuaded hard enough back then for them to let me work a bit longer._

_I know you cannot do much on your own with the job in the cotton mill, but maybe in another year I can get out of their hair and they can stop asking and pestering me about it._

_The clock is ticking, a marriage seems imminent. I don’t mean to be dramatic, but I enjoy my freedom and I don’t plan on losing it anytime soon._

* * *

 

_August 12, 1909_

_The week’s been long at the mill, as they usually are. Not much to write about, but Erica invited me to coffee tomorrow night so I’ll be sure to hold her to that invitation. She’s one of the few girls who still talks to me. I’ll figure out why the rest stopped in due time._

* * *

 

_August 14, 1909 _

_Yesterday was lovely. I met Erica’s family and was surprised about something, but it’s not important right now. She tells me she prefers Toronto over cities down south in America because people don’t ask too many questions. Honestly, I know the feeling. We discussed those large houses like the one the Eaton family owned and mused about how someday we’d buy something similar. Wouldn’t that be magical? You just know those pointed roofs hold so many secrets._

_But I just returned now from the jazz club. I’m thinking of inviting Erica there._

* * *

 

_August 16, 1909_

_It was tedious today in the mill and extremely hot, but at least we get our break by the end of the week._

_I invited Erica to the jazz club, but she seemed quite timid. I told her once she sees those dancers she’ll forget all about her fears, but then she’s a few years younger than me too. She probably doesn’t want much trouble from her family. I understand, I’ve had those feelings. I still do most times._

_I’ll convince her yet. I need a friend who hasn’t run off with a boy, but then again it’s probably only a matter of time with her too._

* * *

 

_August 17, 1909_

_I had to deliver some food to Uncle Greg today and tried my best to avoid talking to too many people, but of course Alfred pounced on me almost the second I set foot in that little building. I swear he has a radar for my scent or something. The scent of cotton._

_Today he spoke about how fascinating this telephone was becoming, especially in regards to his piece about it. He offered to let me read it but I got out of an invitation to his place for tea just in the knick of time. When Uncle Greg thanked me for the food they asked for another story about the animals._

_I wouldn’t call myself a writer, but if they want me to write I expect payment as well. Especially if I’m family. If I broach the topic they laugh and somehow marriage comes up again._

_At any rate the work at the mill isn’t anything to brag about and I hope mother will stop asking me to make these trips to the Daily Caller offices, but it seems doubtful. She’s becoming increasingly convinced of my future devotion to Alfred, but she can remain delusional._

* * *

 

_August 18, 1909 _

_A suffragette handed me one of those pamphlets on my way to work today. Usually I just ignore them, but out in that blazing sun I couldn’t help feeling bad. It’s not like this woman was one of those vagrants, as father calls them. She was clearly out there over something she cared about._

_The pamphlet mostly talks about exercising the right in us as women making our own choices over who we want in our government office, something only men have been doing since before anybody, least of all I, could remember. It goes on to point out how healthcare for women and children, especially in the workforce, still needs improvement._

_Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to stand out on those streets and hand out fliers. Then I wonder how nice it must be to just think about being afforded such a luxury as to make those kinds of choices. Could one even imagine living alone in Toronto without ridicule? Could one even imagine picking their own companion to spend the rest of their life with? If they even wanted to live a long life with somebody else to begin with._

_Then again none of these suffragettes are claiming such a thing, they just want better healthcare at work. That’s something to look forward to perhaps._

* * *

 

_August 20, 1909 _

_Free at last! My calloused hands deserve this welcome two-week break._

* * *

 

_August 22, 1909_

_I met one of Erica’s relatives at the jazz club today. He was one of the bartenders, a Chinese cousin. Didn’t have anybody to dance with so he was a welcome companion for the night. He mentioned how he appreciated that I wasn’t rude to Erica compared to the other women that worked in the mill and it came with a revelation._

_Well sorry my dear diary, I don’t mean to be dramatic. I discovered why the women at work like Olivia and Tabitha ignored me out of nowhere; they discovered I have a black grandmother in my family. Imagine that! People say the smart ones are in Canada and yet… that isn’t always so. I hadn’t even noticed Erica was different because she’s half white as well. There are so many Chinese people helping our city and the rest of the country you’d think more would be a little more appreciative._

_I can’t imagine how it’d be if I were fully black too. I live with my white family and always have, but sometimes I remember Grandma Letty and her stories and church visits and wonder why I couldn’t have spent more time with her._

_I think Erica’s cousin, Michael, realized I was getting nostalgic and we talked for the rest of the night about the musicians and dancers. It was a welcome reprieve._

* * *

 


	2. August 23 - September 5, 1909

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The diary entries for Lilia continue onwards as she unknowingly makes her way to something spectacular, all the while missing the freedom she used to have as a child.

_August 23, 1909_

_I must have stepped on that creaky floorboard last night because I was asked some suspicious questions today. Auntie Beth knows I frequent this club as many weekends as I can manage, and I know she’s told others. Why it’s an issue to begin with I’ll never understand._

_I told mother the truth, that I was out with friends. She made a comment about marrying soon and the conversation ended faster than it began, but I don’t like the looks of it. I don’t like feeling this sort of dread with her._

* * *

 

_August 25, 1909 _

_Alfred stopped by and had tea with the family, but I didn’t know about it until late into the afternoon. That immediately rules out the idea that I invited him over to begin with._

_I was at the beach with Marnie and her boy. I can’t be bothered to remember his name right now, she’ll have a new one by the next week anyway. Nothing against her choices, I just can’t be bothered to remember the name. We found a spot through the crowds and I read my Peter Pan play, then we had ice cream. Hopefully the weather will stay this agreeable for as long as possible. Some days well into the spring we still have snow, so when the sunlight breaks through for what feels like small periods of time it’s hard not to want to enjoy it._

_We had lunch and an early dinner together so I wasn’t too hungry when I got home and found Alfred lounging around and laughing with my uncle and aunt in the foyer. He smoked a pipe like the rest of them and I was so surprised to even see him there that I couldn’t just sneak away to my room._

_I helped mother with the tea and she took care to make sure the only available seats in the foyer were next to Alfred. I wanted to leave, since the beach tires one out, but they kept asking me questions about work._

_Alfred of course never missed an opportunity to bring up how well he was doing. The piece about the telephone made such good waves, not that I ever heard about it from somebody other than him, and he was hoping to buy a good apartment in the new downtown core of the city soon._

_When I finally found some time alone, mother came in and told me "The Plan". Eventually I was to marry someone like Alfred or I wouldn’t be able to live in the tenant anymore. She was very blunt. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. “I just worry about your future darling, you’re my only child.” This is something she tried to be very sweet about, following it up with the fact that I need to make up my mind by the end of the year or I’m out._

_What a way to end a day at the beach._

* * *

 

_August 26, 1909_

_I wrote a small story for the Daily Caller today. It was about a pair of beavers making friends with mermaids in a small fishing town. I know it wasn’t good, I put it together very last minute, and I got no comments on it. Not even a thank you. But at least it would hopefully have everybody leave me alone for a bit._

* * *

 

_August 29, 1909_

_I get lost in the music. There are moments where my mind doesn’t connect with my body. The colours and laughter and shapes meld into one._

_I wish life were different._

* * *

 

_September 5, 1909 _

_I remember my grandmother some nights. And when I’m on the bus, riding from work to home. It isn’t long, but the little snippets of her come back. She used to tell me stories and lessons that are becoming harder and harder to remember. I still have a tough time figuring out what happened to her. Her bright wrinkled smile is becoming more and more distant as the days carry on._

_“Lilia,” she used to begin, “never forget there are always watchful and loving eyes on you.”_

_I wonder if maybe those were words meant for a child. I am not a child anymore. Yet, I am also not one with my own choices._

* * *

 


	3. September 7 - September 12, 1909

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The final diary entries of Lilia Marsden before her adventure.

_September 7, 1909_

_Coming back to work wasn’t as horrific as one would assume. It keeps the mind occupied. The skin on my hands is getting tough enough already and while it often feels like a lot doesn't get done it was still useful. My muscles ached and I slept well that night._

_I found out from Erica that more of her family is finding its way into Toronto, or at least the other provinces. She told me she wants everyone to be close together. I wonder what that feels like, but I held my tongue. I_ am _happy for her._

_I should be more appreciative of what I have too. I could be living destitute on my own, but I do wonder what is worse. Living poor and hungry… or living the rest of your life with somebody you know you cannot love._

_But anyway, we had coffee together again. We shared stories about our families, and it was an otherwise enjoyable evening._

* * *

 

_September 9, 1909 _

_Waiting for the bus allows the mind to wander, but sometimes I find that it is truly tedious. Honestly I wish I had a proper watch to tell me how much of my time is passing, but then that idea just annoys me when I think too hard about it._

_As I sat on a bench I caught a man chuckling as he read the newspaper. He was apparently enjoying a little story about beavers and mermaids._

_“My daughter will really love that, especially if I read it to her tonight.”_

_It was under Alfred’s name. Even if I accomplished much it wouldn’t be remembered as_ my _accomplishment._

 _But I_ am _happy the man enjoyed my little story, and I_ am _glad his daughter will too. That is truly who it’s all meant for in fact, right? I hope so._

* * *

 

_September 10, 1909_

_I do so loathe apple pies, but Erica’s family did make some splendid ones. Maybe they found extra ingredients and time that perfected it, because for once I enjoyed the delicacy. I was so delighted with my new sense of taste that I invited her to the jazz club tomorrow night. In front of her mother and father too._

_I would’ve been embarrassed but they seemed happy to get their daughter out with friends. She was shy and I hope I didn’t press too hard, but thankfully I could see a little twinkle in her eye at the thought._

_Besides, her cousin was there. It would be fun to dance with a friend._

* * *

 

_September 12, 1909_

_My dearest diary it is hard for me to put into words the extraordinary experiences I just endured, but I feel it is right for me to chronicle it nonetheless. It has only been a day since this last entry, and yet I have lived 40 lifetimes._

_I must start at the jazz club, I don’t even remember the name of it right now. It was a joyous night until I saw that boy again… Well Alfred is not a boy as much as I am not a girl, but I have experienced far more than he has. I know this now._

_He came in with a group of his friends, all laughing and making asses of themselves. I left Erica with her cousin and ran off to the back of the main orchestra’s stage. She understood, I’ve complained about him before._

_Backstage wasn’t as grand as the front but I didn’t have much time to take in my surroundings and I soon asked a passing musician for a good place to hide. He chuckled but quickly found me a storage room I could creep into._

_And I crept too far._

* * *

 


	4. Archenland

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lilia helps discover Archenland.

When Lilia Marsden was only fourteen years old her family took a small class on rock climbing. They had to travel farther north in Toronto to find the best mountains and hills and it was gruelling work. Even for the middle of the summer, the air was brisk and colder than usual and Lilia remembered wondering how daunting it would be to do this in the winter. She heard stories of how other places in Canada were much worse when it grew colder outside, how the hills were bigger too, but it still made her rethink ever taking that rock climbing class again.

She remembered it now staring down the halfway point of a snowy mountain. The top was concealed by clouds and Lilia had a feeling it went farther up than she could imagine. It had a bumpy surface, sloping steeply downward where she stood and she could already tell as a hard chill crept in that it would be hard to maneuver around. Not impossible, but the circumstances weren’t looking too high for her.

For starters she was on this mountain to begin with, overlooking valleys of grasslands, desert to the south, an ocean to the east, when she had just been in a storage closet seconds ago. The room disappeared in-between a grouping of trees just on the mountain’s edge and Lilia could see there wasn’t any going back to Toronto through there again that wouldn’t result in her imminent death.

Looking over the valleys she could also gather that the city had disappeared. She had fallen or risen or _something_ into a whole other country out of nowhere.

Behind the mountains Lilia couldn’t be certain what she would find, but ahead of her she could tell the land was uninhabited. How long would it take to make it to that ocean? And what a beautifully serene and blue ocean it was too.

Lilia held her arms close, bare in her silk dancing dress, the only one she used in her outings. It was made of thin material and whipped around her legs as she started trudging her way down the mountain. She kept as far away from the edge as possible and the chilly wind never seemed to die down.

“Those trees don’t look too nourishing in this weather. Is it Spring here or the end of Winter? I can’t tell. Do they even have fruit in them? Doubtful… How far is that ocean again?”

Was it even an ocean? Lilia had never really seen one before, she lived her whole life in Toronto. This one didn’t seem like the murky and grey waters she _was_ used to seeing; it was bright and glorious, but still too far. If anything the more she climbed down the mountain, twisting this way and that, the more it disappeared farther from view.

The sky was grey, looking as if it would produce snow at any minute, and when it did it clung to her cool skin. Small sprinklings at first and Lilia wondered if she would die out here before she reached the valley.

“Lady! What brings you to these regions!”

She hadn’t even heard the noise of horses through the wind, but when she turned there were dozens of people sitting erect on them behind her. Majestic-looking people in comfortable red and brown robes. One with long dark chestnut hair sat up front and Lilia mused to herself through the oncoming snow whether he was the leader or not. Even if he did seem to be close in age to her, he had also been the one who spoke with a clear and strong voice, so her answer came swiftly.

“Under King Frank V’s name, under the name of Aslan, how did you come upon this mountain?”

“She may be a nymph dear cousin.” A girl mused behind him. Her own chestnut hair was pulled back and Lilia could see rosy cheeks and a friendly but curious expression.

“I’m sorry… I must’ve… taken a wrong turn somewhere.”

“Through where dear nymph?” The original man asked in his loud voice through the wind, but the sharpness had faded.

“I don’t know how I got here. One minute I’m in Toronto in Monty’s storage closet, next I’m—”

“Ron-Oh. What is this Ron-Oh and Cloz-ette you speak of?” The man asked, for Lilia, having always grown up in her city never pronounced the second T distinctly, as any native Torontonian wouldn’t.

Lilia took a deep breath, it sent jagged spikes through her lungs and she realized she’d been walking longer than she thought.

“Where am I?”

“Why… she’s from another world.” The girl spoke this breathlessly.

“This is your first time setting foot here?” The man asked and before Lilia could answer he hopped off his horse and took her hand gently. “I am Prince Col, of Narnia, under King Frank V, under Aslan, under the Emperor Beyond The Sea. Your hands are very cold… come and join us, you can warm up.”

Lilia couldn’t exactly explain how she felt in this moment. The first time she heard the name Aslan she didn’t know how to react. She was cold but a warmness had overcome her. When this prince said the name again, she was afraid of what was to come in this mysterious world but in a good way. She was excited and it was a new sensation to her.

“I’m um… that is to say… my name is Lilia. Lilia Marsden.”

Col bowed low and guided her gently to his party. The closer she got the more of them she saw, all studying her curiously but not with hostility. “Well Miss Lilia Marsden, it seems like you are new to these parts, although I have no recollection of how that could be. You don’t particularly feel like a nymph or a dryad but human, a Daughter of Eve, like a number of us have descended from here. Which can only mean that you indeed came from that other world.”

Before she could understand what had happened, in a quick minute Col had wrapped one of his robes around her, warming her up instantly, and then lifted her onto his horse like she weighed nothing. He climbed in behind her and took the reins under her arms and new robe, a part of him still protected from the cold.

And so he explained to her the history and his journeys in the land of Narnia. It was created by a great Lion, this Aslan, the name continuing to make her feel warm inside. Col descends from the first King and Queen, people from her world. Lilia noticed they all sounded distinctly British and wondered if the original founders had been plucked from London or Ireland. She remembered an old family home in Ireland her family kept meaning to tour and buy out from its current owners, but then her thoughts wandered back to the Prince’s story.

They journeyed down the mountain faster now and it warmed her considerably, although the horses also had a steady stride for safety. The land all around became less cold, but not altogether hot like the summer air in Toronto, and it smelled and felt sweeter than she could describe. Col stated that he was King Frank V’s second son, and she wondered if the first Frank must have been the first human in this Narnia. Col's elder brother Michael was set to be the newest King of Narnia and Col had gained followers to find the uninhabited land down south, towards where they were going now.

Eventually the mountain opened up to a clear valley marked with a variety of trees around them, but nothing too dense. There were ferns and pine trees and the birch ones were just beginning to tower over the ravines and hills they passed. The party of followers, because that was what they were to the Prince, stopped their horses, dismounted and started setting up camp. Lilia had never ridden a horse before, but Col’s protective arms had kept her steady and now he helped her down.

It is easy to assume that from the start Lilia thought she was dreaming. A very long and realistic dream, but a dream nonetheless. How could she possibly just fall into another world? How would she get back? Did she even _want_ to?

These were some of her thoughts all through the ride down the mountain, and as Col told her of his plans for a new kingdom, as his cousin Rebecca came beside them when there was more room and spoke about his father and brother, Lilia found herself accepting that this was in fact not a dream. She knew a part of it had to do with that name, Aslan. How a lion, _the_ Lion, helped create a whole world she wouldn’t bother asking.

She had needed some magic in her life. What other kind could she get? And in the end it _was_  a dream she would wake up from it in a few hours anyway.

It would take some getting used to.

When Col helped Lilia off her seat, her legs still wobbly from such a great height (because of course this had been her first time on such a regal horse, let alone one to begin with), he then turned to his party just beginning to make camp and cleared his throat. It instantly gathered their attention and everybody, all fifty of them Lilia realized, bowed low. Including his cousin.

“We’ve journeyed far my friends, but I imagine we are at an end to it. Rejoice! For you are all a part of the new kingdom of Archenland!”

Lilia watched the tired group cheer with renewed liveliness. She had fallen into a whole world and would watch a kingdom form. This was possibly the loveliest dream she could ever experience. And she knew truthfully deep down that this was not a dream.

Now she could see, as she was instructed to help here and there, how old these people truly were. Col and his cousin were indeed Lilia’s age, but the rest scattered from late forties to younger than ten. The only other women besides Lilia and Rebecca were in small families, well into their lives, but ready to start new ones with the Prince.

She tried her best to help, having never camped before as well. It became abundantly clear that her life had been boring and unadventurous before this moment. Nobody complained when she struggled to light different fires, and nobody complained when she didn’t understand the functions of tents. In Toronto she had seen pictures of people going on these excursions, of the cold harsh groups that journeyed in the Klondike, and even the way these tents were built here was more majestic and homely than anything she could have imagined. Eventually they let her rest near one of the rivers with Rebecca handing her food and keeping her company a few hours later.

The chicken tasted like nothing she had before, juicy and sweet all in one. Lilia didn’t even care that she was being impolite using her hands.

“You’ve come a long way then haven’t you?” Rebecca chuckled, observing her delight in the food.

Lilia swallowed and nodded, suddenly shy. Technically she was in the presence of royalty and she hadn’t even properly used their titles to address them.

“Thank you for helping around the camp.”

She laughed. “I don’t think I’ve been much help.”

“That’s alright, a future queen isn’t expected to know everything off the top of her head. Especially one from another world.”

“A future queen?”

Rebecca squeezed her arm lightly. “I am quite glad you’ve arrived. I rather think Aslan sent you here so as not to complicate things between cousins and siblings.”

Before Lilia could press further for questions Rebecca stood up again. “You should wash up before joining us around Prince Col’s campfire. He’d be delighted to have you there. And you can borrow one of my dresses.”

She washed her hands and face in the river, a sparkling delicious stream she couldn’t get enough of, before making her way to the giant tent Col and his men had put up. She walked in tentatively and stopped in terror at what she saw.

Col was sitting at a small table overlooking an unfinished map. On one side of him a grizzly bear stood on its hindquarters and a man with the torso and head of a human, but the body and legs of a horse stood on the Prince's other side. They all looked up and Lilia forgot how to breathe, going deathly pale.

“Miss Lilia Marsden, how may we help you?” Prince Col stood.

She blinked quickly and realized the bear wasn’t moving. But then it huffed in confusion and she jumped. Col glanced at either side of him and smiled.

“Do not waste away your composure in fear. Lord Rylan and my companion Glenhin will not harm you.”

“You think she doesn’t know we can talk?”

Lilia jumped again and the Bear, Glenhin, laughed.

“I… I apologize. We… we don’t have talking animals… or… or men with horse bodies in my world.”

“I’ve heard tales of this sort. Come… how may we be of service to you?”

Lilia pushed through her surprise and fear and stepped forward. She was ready to bow, but remembered that women in the old fairy tales she used to read would curtsy, so she did that instead. It wasn’t her most elegant curtsy, but for somebody new to this world it was a good enough attempt. She stood upright and saw that Col was watching her with a sparkle and joy in his eye. Men never usually watched her this way, not without wanting something horrible in return.

But Col was a Prince, the first real gentleman and royalty Lilia had ever met. When he smiled and watched her there was nothing sinister about it.

“Your Majesty… I apologize if I may have been… rude before.”

“Rude? How so?”

“I wasn’t… aware that you were… _truly_ royalty of this land. You _said_ so I know, but I thought I might’ve been dreaming, so it was difficult for me to find the right words until now.”

Col chuckled and beckoned for her to step up. Lilia did so, less and less afraid of the two creatures beside him. Col pointed down to the map and she could only see drawings of mountains on it.

“I plan on becoming the first King of Archenland, but there is still much to be discovered. Along our way, high up in those mountains, we saw a vast eastern ocean, and to the south we witness nothing but red and orange.”

“That was probably a desert. Sand.” Col looked up curiously and Lilia curtseyed again. “Your Majesty.”

“What is sand?” Glenhin asked, a gruff perturbed voice coming out of the great Bear’s mouth. Lilia’s heart skipped a beat but she calmed her tone. It reminded her of the stories she wrote for children and since this wasn’t a dream she would have to get used to her new surroundings much faster than she thought.

“Do you have beaches in Narnia?”

“Yes…” Lord Rylan answered. He had a low commanding voice. “We believe this Great Eastern Ocean frames Narnia and our new home.”

“Well… that grainy stuff, the tiny tiny rocks, that’s sand. Now imagine that without the water. Millions upon millions of grains of sand. And it can all create its own mountains and hills and it goes on and on. I don’t really know what’s beyond this desert but anyway that’s what it’s called.”

“Oh! I know what sand is!” Glenhin stated triumphantly and Lilia realized he was smiling the way a Bear would.

Col was smiling again as well, but now he was more thoughtful. “You saw it too then?”

“Only briefly. I was still… trying to understand how I had even gotten here.”

“It will take years to discover this land, but my people and I are willing to brave this journey. With a kingdom to come back to and the beginnings of a new royalty, having something to work for, is in my greatest interest.”

Lilia felt her lips dry and her heart skip another beat, but not because of fear. Although it did feel an awful lot like _some_ kind of fear. Could Prince Col sense it too?

“Your Majesty… may I… ask you a question?”

“Inquire away milady.”

Her face went hot at being referred to as milady, and she had a feeling it wouldn’t be the last time she would hear it.

“Were you… expelled from Narnia?” The thought of being punished for asking such a hostile question hadn’t occurred to her until it came out of her mouth. What if these royals were secretly dangerous? What if they had been pirates all along and she had gotten herself into trouble. At any rate, Col’s confused expression made her press further. “Why did you come here if you were a prince in Narnia? Did you really want to be king so badly?”

She watched the Bear and Centaur (for that was what he was and she would later read up on all the magical creatures of Narnia and meet them herself) turn to see how their prince and future king would answer.

A curious look passed through his eyes. At first Col was perturbed, but then he sat down and turned back to his map.

“I’m sorry, Your Highness. I didn’t mean for that to sound rude. I don’t understand the history of this place just yet, but if you give me time I can learn—”

“It was written in our history books. Long ago, when the land was first created out of the Lion’s Song, it was foretold that a prince, a descendant of the very first King Frank, would found the uncharted area of Archenland. And…” At this he stopped but shook his head, his mind clearing. “Every generation it was expected of the second son to do this. I couldn’t pass up an adventure. I didn’t truly want to leave my family behind…”

“I understand. I apologize if I may have sounded… accusatory. I was just curious.”

Col smiled again, but the spark was gone. “Yes, curiosity is what brought us all here.”

Afterwards Lilia was given a dress from Rebecca, the only other woman who had clothes that would fit her. It was red and white and she expected it to pinch and make it hard for her to breathe, like every other dress always did, but instead it was comfortable. The sleeves flowed over her arms and the trail reached just past her ankles, but she wasn’t too warm or too cold. Rebecca and a girl that seemed to be made of leaves put her hair up in elaborate twirls that still somehow looked natural, like she woke up with her hair in that design.

As the sun disappeared and stars twinkled in the night sky, giant stars, closer and more vibrant than any of the Torontonian stars, Lilia walked out of her hidden tent with Rebecca and made her way to a vast fire blazing in the centre of the valley. Prince Col had somehow found a way to include everybody in his camp in a circle, including the little families and their children. He sat in the middle, the warmest of glows cast upon him, and his eyes lit up when Rebecca brought her new companion out.

“Come milady… you are my guest and you get the honourable seat beside me.”

Lilia curtsied and expected Rebecca or Lord Rylan to glare and feel nothing but insult. For a quick second she really did believe she was dreaming. In any other circumstance, in history and her own day-to-day life this would regularly be so, but they only nodded to her and moved aside.

All eyes were on the Prince, which she was grateful for. She hated when she was the centre of attention, but being in the presence of royalty only made her see how solemn the affair truly was.

“And now… we tell stories.”

Lilia turned in surprise when he handed her a flask with a red lion embroidered on it. She sipped it slowly and realized it was a delicious red wine. It wouldn’t be a surprise to mention that it was the best she had ever tasted, better even than from the jazz club.

The party relaxed and laughed over the next couple of hours and Lilia felt a tension on her shoulders start to fade. It had crept up on her the second she met this group, but now she knew they didn’t plan on hurting her, they treated her as if she were always there, as if she had made the journey from their own home to the mountains with them. Outside of starting with the story of Narnia, they continued on with speaking like out of a storybook. Yet it sounded better than any class or lecture she had been in, enthralled from start to finish.

Col told of the stars Ramandu and Coriakin and how they travel through the skies, always at odds with one another. A knight a few away from Lilia, named Kellin, spoke of a battle with Giants in the northern hemisphere of Narnia. One of the children laughed about a water sprite that could be hidden in the deepest of oceans. Lilia tried to tell one of her own stories, but an older one she first came up with as a 19-year-old about an orphan girl discovering she was a long lost princess. Eyes shined and rich berries were eaten, but when the children had fallen asleep in their parents’ laps and a few of the animals and magical creatures’ thoughts had started to drift away, the Prince ordered everybody to get some sleep.

As Lilia stood with Rebecca and curtsied, Col took her hand. He bowed and kissed the knuckles. She thought maybe she would feel some type of warmth, but instead she was filled with confusion and a formality that hadn’t even come to her when she first realized she was next to a prince.

“Milady… we have much to start with these next coming weeks. I hope you choose to join us.”

Lilia shared the same tent as before with Rebecca and as she lay back and the night passed on without sleep drifting in the fact that she had spent a whole day in another world finally settled into her. No more fancy ideas, however little they may be, that she was dreaming, and now a new query hung in the air.

Prince Col wanted to marry her. The hints were clear enough. She was the only woman near his age who had appeared, he must see her as something magical because of it. His cousin had sounded so relieved that she wouldn’t have to be the girl he would marry.

Lilia had wanted to leave her old life. She wanted to be able to make her own choices, to live long days without the ominous truth of somebody tying her down. And if she ever wanted to marry it would be on her own terms, to a man she was supposed to fall in love with spontaneously. Even in this magical world that hadn’t happened.

Why was it that she could pass through dimensions and still have the burden of marriage at every turn?

She had to get away, find a secluded area to gather her thoughts. When Lilia was absolutely positive that Rebecca was asleep she took the robes, wrapped them around herself, and crept out of the warm and toasty tent into the chilled Narnian night.

* * *

 


	5. A Crowning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lilia realizes she needs to fulfill the destiny that brought her to Archenland.

At first Lilia had wanted to walk into one of the other valleys she had seen up on the mountain, farther from Prince Col’s camp, but the more she journeyed the farther she ended up. The dying embers of firelight went from becoming a speck to disappearing entirely and all she had to guide her were the stars.

She stopped after about an hour to sit in on a green hill, next to a small birch tree. She had been breaking branches to remember her trail but throwing them aside nonchalantly, her thoughts somewhere else.

The stars entranced her and soon all she could think about were the stories told around the campfire. She could distinctly see the two stars Col had mentioned, Coriakin shining bright, Ramandu watching menacingly over the world.

But those were just stories. Stars didn’t have thoughts and feelings and choices to make like human beings.

Wrapping Col’s robes around her, Lilia fell asleep up against the tree. When she awoke again the sun was just starting to appear over the horizon, the grey sky hiding the specific clouds and stars. Surprisingly, after she rubbed her eyes and stretched Lilia could still see those two dominant ones twinkling down on her.

“Daughter… why are you afraid?”

She stood and a chill ran through her whole body. Turning, Lilia quickly found herself face-to-face with a majestic and terrifying lion. Her whole body was suddenly numb all over and she had lost her voice. The Lion, Aslan, paced back and forth, circling her, deep eyes on her all the while. She realized He was the one speaking to her.

“A great life is ready to begin for you. Why do you run and hide from it?”

Lilia found her voice. She thought it would come out choked. She spoke timidly at first but her conviction quickly became stronger. It needed to be so in the presence of this Lion and somehow she knew this.

“I’ve never been able to make my own choices before. How is this any different?”

“Your pride overcomes you. Not everything is handed to one just the way they envision. Choices change.”

The Great Lion breathed over her and she blinked, shining inside. Her green eyes lit up and she felt she suddenly didn’t need to wear the robe anymore. It trailed behind her as the Lion pointed his nose towards the camp. She couldn’t see it, but somehow she knew Aslan was not steering her wrong.

As she retraced her steps and found the wind-swept branches she had discarded, Aslan disappeared, as if never beside her to begin with. There was power in this land, Lilia felt it the second she set foot on those mountains. But that Lion, he had more of it than anything; more than the rest of those talking animals, more than the woods and sky and stars. She felt all her fears disappear and a new understanding replace them.

Even if she needed to do something she hadn’t found enticing before, she would learn to adjust. She was the visitor after all.

Lilia saw the small fire in the distance and soon a voice, distinctly like Glenhin’s called out. Before she knew it Prince Col was galloping on his horse towards her.

He was alert, having been awake for hours, a worried fire in his eyes. He jumped down from his horse, who Lilia found out in time was named Myken, and walked towards her. Col paused, and she saw worry and confusion, real human emotions that even princes experience.

“Milady Lilia… we awoke well into the night to find that you had departed. Your ladyship Rebecca suggested you needed to be alone, but I was worried.”

“You were looking for me all night?”

“I had just finished putting together a search party when Glenhin—”

“Your Majesty…” Lilia curtsied low and couldn’t meet his eyes when she stood up straight again. “I don’t think you’re making a good choice.”

Col paused and turned back towards the camp. He waved them off and Lilia noticed then that a small group had been watching from afar, in similar worry to their prince. They started to scatter slightly when Col turned back to her but she had a feeling Rebecca was still watching.

Lilia was taken aback when Col leaned down and spoke to her from upon a bended knee, looking up at her.

“Milady… please do tell me your woes.”

“Far be it for me to assume my own worthiness, but… Rebecca called me a future queen.”

“You doubt my devotion to you.”

Lilia blushed and he took her hand.

“Is it true? That you mean to make me the queen here?”

“Under Aslan’s name.”

“I met him.”

Col’s eyes flashed and she met his gaze.

“He comes to people when they need him most. What did he say to you?”

Lilia shook her head. “You believe me the second I tell you.”

“Of course. Thus is the power of faith.”

She remembered faith. She had plenty of it when her grandmother took her around the city and up in the mountains in her old life, for this was her new beginning. And she knew the man kneeling in front of her, his faith was just as real and undaunted.

“I… I was scared you would hurt me. Force me to do things I wouldn’t want to do.”

It dawned on him in just a few seconds. Lilia carefully sat down and again couldn’t meet his gaze. The grass was soft and cool in the morning light and she could hear a small stream trickling in the distance in-between the sounds of the camp.

“I came from a place where that was an ordinary circumstance.”

“Narnia is a land where free men and women and creatures may make their own choices.”

“But I was brought here to be with you.”

Col tilted his head, lost in thought. Lilia looked up, ready for a fight, waiting to be cast off, but then he spoke again.

“What awful idea do you think marrying me would bring to you? You can take your time learning anything you want… we have centuries to grow this land. I don’t think it is a far cry for me to want a companion during this… adventure. Do you?”

They spoke for a little bit longer. Lilia told the Prince about her world, what was expected of her, the family and tenant she had lived in. Col told her about the rules of a king and queen, how he would teach her the histories and how to ride a horse and fight with whatever weapon she wanted. It put a renewed hope in her and Lilia wanted to sit there with the Prince for hours on end.

Finally, they were interrupted by a shout and the Centaur’s approach. He bowed low and the two stood up again, Lilia still in a daze.

“Your Majesty… Milady… you must come quick. Something incredible has happened.”

Lilia sat behind Col on Myken this time and they followed Lord Rylan well through the camp until the groups of tents parted to a spectacular view.

A moat-less castle made of red-brown stones sat tall on a green lawn. They passed through the high woody ridge of the camp and the first signs of snow twinkled through the small towers circling it. Prince Col dismounted and stared up in awe.

“Everybody in the camp swears tooth and nail that they do not remember passing any type of building and I can concur with them.” Rylan murmured near him. “I sense no enchantment from this area, thus it must be the work of Aslan.”

Col turned at the name and blinked up through the sun to observe the people around him, but when his eyes fell on Lilia neither could bare to look away from one another. After helping her down from Myken, he bowed low towards the castle.

A hush fell upon the whole crowd and Lilia saw every creature simultaneously hold their breaths. A soft winter wind trailed through the valley and soon three Dwarves with long curly red beards, the tops of their heads not reaching higher than her waist, walked up holding two objects hidden under a velvety cloth. They handed the cloth to her solemnly and she realized it was two lithe and swirling crowns.

Nothing like the heavy uncomfortable kinds she saw in history books about the British kings and queens, the emeralds in the silver crown and rubies in the gold one were littered delicately throughout. Lilia knew the gold must be for a king. She smiled down at the Dwarves, whom she had met the night before when she had tried to help around the camp.

“They’re beautiful. Thank you.”

They bowed low and said nothing more. For a split second Lilia couldn’t fathom what exactly needed to be done, but then common sense won over. She turned with the crowns to Col, whose head was still bent low to the ground. His eyes were closed and it was so quiet in the camp she could hear his soft breathing. She placed the gold crown on his head.

“Now you’re a King. King Col of…” She blinked, pausing briefly and a Dwarf whispered the word in a quick hiss. “King Col of Archenland.”

Col, once known as Prince to Frank V of the Narnia, stood as the King. And he smiled down at her before he turned to his followers and was declared long life amongst a once-silent crowd.

* * *

 


	6. Bittersweet Return

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Queen Lilia's long rule eventually comes to an end.

The castle building and the valley around them was named Anvard. There was nothing of value within the walls, so the Dwarves took care to start building materials fit for royalty. Lilia explored the greenery of a growing courtyard and had a snowball fight with what she found out was a young Faun: a boy’s body on goat legs with goat ears. The snow had reached their knees when Rebecca found her and brought her to a small room and she was dressed up again for a feast in their new castle.

Lilia and Col married only a few years later when the castle had been furnished with great paintings and furniture, when two Thrones had been built out of gold and silver dug from the earth, and whence the two had traveled around parts of Archenland together that included the discovery of the rest of the Eastern Ocean. 

On their first night together in their new room with its grand purple drapery and roaring fireplace, Lilia curtsied low in her fine white gown, one the Fauns and Dryads had made with bright jewels trailing through the hem. Col lifted the new crowns off both their heads and laughed when she stood, watching him shyly.

“When we are alone you need not refer to me formally. In this room I am your husband and I serve only you.”

A new life carried on for her. Queen Lilia and her King Col made trips to the Eastern Ocean and that was the only kind she remembered, a glistening blue to the bright young Narnian sun. A war almost took place between the new kingdom of Archenland and the Calormenes ten years into their new rule, but by then Lilia had become proficient in archery and challenged the skill of the Tisroc in battle while Col challenged him in sword-fight. The Calormenes never thought to cross the desert for a land they didn’t care for until a different sort of queen and her siblings ruled in Narnia.

It may not have been how she originally planned it, but Queen Lilia learned to love her husband and mothered seven children with him. Sometimes romance doesn’t appear out of the blue, sometimes one has to work for it, even for a royal family. In time Lilia forgot about her old life and her love was truer than any in our world and the Narnian's. Archenland flourished and grew as Col’s followers scattered throughout the regions and Anvard slowly became more and more populated.

For the next forty years, with their children and grandchildren they traveled and discovered more about their new home. Dignitaries from the kingdom of Narnia visited and Lilia was often invited to the grand hilltop castle of Cair Paravel.

* * *

When it was decided that Prince Col’s new companion, Lady Lilia would become queen, when she had fallen into Narnia it was the year 180 of that world. She had been taught the histories and could recite it like the back of her hand by her third year as Queen Lilia of Archenland.

In the year 220, when Queen Lilia was a wise old woman of 65, and her body had hardened from rigorous labour in helping build houses and her archery and storytelling had been perfected that every resident of Archenland spoke of them fondly to their families and friends, on that year she took another trip up the mountains that circled her land from the Narnians. She and her youngest granddaughter were visiting Cair Paravel’s King and Queen to decide on a marriage proposal when she came upon a familiar ridge near one of the mountain passes. Trees hid a pathway from view and she beckoned her granddaughter Elizabeth onwards without her for a minute while she observed it.

The place reminded her of a long forgotten dream and her curiosity changed her life once again.

She walked through the trees as 65-year-old Queen Lilia of Archenland and stepped back into a Torontonian jazz club’s storage closet in the year 1909, 25 years old again.

Not a minute had passed, but Lilia Marsden lived forty lifetimes.

* * *

 


End file.
